Mama Melrose's

When counting down the days of an upcoming Disney trip, its fun to think about all the new things you’ll experience. On our most recent visit (10/18 - 10/25) we found our visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios high on our list. Since it had been nearly a year since our last trip to see the mouse, several things had changed. Most notably of course was the addition of Toy Story Midway Mania. But also our decision to make an ADR at Mama Melrose’s was something to look forward to.
While we’ve visited Disney many times over the years, around 30 now, we had never dined at MM. Many times we’ve not even considered it. I’m not sure why, we love Italian food, but it never registered high on the radar. Perhaps it’s because it’s tucked away toward the back of the park. But this year we decided to make a late lunch reservation on the last full day of our vacation.
We wandered back to MM in a light rain. We walked into a pretty bustling lunch crowd a few minutes before our reservation. We were immediately seated in a nice corner with a good view of both the restaurant area and the place where servers pick up the food. We’ve often walked by and peeped in, but were surprised at the size of the dining room. I’ve always thought this was a small area but it was bigger than I realized.
My wife and I aren’t big eaters, often splitting the giant Disney portions. We decided not to order appetizers or salads but each ordered an entrée. My wife decided on the wood-grilled shrimp over pipette pasta with artichokes, peas, peppers, sweet onions in a basil four cheese cream sauce. Being a seafood lover myself I chose Spaghetti Fra Diavolo with clams and mussels tossed in a spicy marinara sauce. While waiting for our food, I spotted a gentleman enjoying a mozzarella and tomato appetizer. It looked really good and I regretted not getting one to split. But no need to despair, as our server soon returned with bread and dipping oil with fresh cracked black pepper and two glasses of Chianti. The bread was crusty and warm, a little tuff as it should be. After enjoying some of the bread our dinner arrived in large bowls. Upon sitting it on the table, I immediately smelled the wood grilled shrimp in my wife’s dish. Mmm, that smells good. I was very happy to find my dish filled with several mussels and clams. I like mussels quite a lot but find clams disappointing more often than not. Either they have not been cleaned properly and are gritty, or have been cooked too long to the point of being chewy or the consistency of rubber. This was not the case today. While I did detect a little sand in one clam, they were cooked just the right. The mussels were tasty, not overdone, and the sauce was spicy as advertised. A pleasant surprise as spicy at Disney is often tame. My wife declared her shrimp dish a hit also and I had to agree. The shrimp was smoky and tender, and there was just the right amount of sauce. The wine was a good compliment to the pasta, so much so that we decided on a second generous pour. Our meal came in at a little over $60 counting the alcohol, including tip after our Tables in Wonderland discount. The service was good and the food was better than we expected. I’m not sure why we haven’t tried Mama Melrose’s before, but after this very pleasant experience, I’m sure we’ll be back.

Great review of Mama Melrose. I really enjoy eating there and think it's often overlooked by many guests. It doesn't have the "buzz" that restaurants like Le Cellier or Chef Mickeys enjoy but I think it's definitely underrated and offer some of the best food at the Studios.

I feel that mama's is mediocre or perhaps a step above that. Frankly, I have many many italian restaurants here that are better. yet, I will be there for the Fantasmic Dinner Package this January. Its better food that H&V and much cheaper that the superior Brown Derby

I enjoyed Mama Melrose's when I was there in March, I think the only bad thing I have to say about the place is that the service there was awful. The food was pretty decent, not the best italian i've had, but definitely not the worst.

I was there this Thursday (I have been home for 3 hours and am very bummed). I had the rigatoni and sausage which was good and the bread and spreads appetizer which stunk

I had the dinner package. Man, have they completely screwed up Fantasmic. The whole thing is a nightmare now. 2 nights a week just creates tremendous havoc and its worse by making the package people enter at the same place. The CMs were overwhelmed